Baseball practice device



June 19, 1956 J. J. CONWAY 2,751,226

BASEBALL PRACTICE DEVICE Filed March 23, 1953 INVENTOR. JOHN J. CONWAY ATTORNEY United States Patent BASEBALL PRACTICE DEVICE John J. Conway, Philadelphia, Pa. Application March 23, 1953, Serial No. 343,891 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-26) This invention relates to amusement devices and in particular is concerned with a device which may be used as a type of baseball game for children or it may be used as a batting practice apparatus.

Devices have heretofore been developed for use as toy baseball games but these require motors or other equipment to operate the various elements such as bats, balls and players used in a game. Other types of devices have been developed for actually playing simulated baseball games where one or more players take part in a competitive game but these require expensive mechanical and electric equipment for automatically keeping score, returning the ball, etc.

The present invention is directed to a device which is simple in construction, readily manufactured and assembled and inexpensively produced. It is particularly adapted for playground use since the device may be used for playing competitive games wherein a number of players may choose sides and play the game without supervision since it is so designed as to practically eliminate any possibility of injury to the players. It is readily useable with only two players in which case it will function as a batting practice device wherein one person will act as a pitcher and the other as batter. The principal advantage of the device is that it may be used by several players with bats to keep the ball continuously in motion, thus eliminating the necessity for a pitcher.

The device comprises a standard which is substantially rigid and has one end secured to a base or is fixed in the ground while its upper end is provided with a swivel or rotatable connection. A flexible suspension member has one end mounted for rotative movement with the swivel connection and has at its other end a captive ball which is fixedly secured thereto. The standard and flexible member may be of varying lengths, but each will be of some particular length relative to the other and the suspension member will be longer than the standard in order that it may be rotated about the standard in a relatively wide circular path about waist high of the players. A standard having a height of about six feet above ground level and a suspension member of about eight feet in length have been used and found quite satisfactory for teen-age children. These measurements permit the ball to be rotated about three feet above ground level, or generally within the batting zone of the average player.

As exemplary of its utility consider four batters to be positioned at stations outside of the circular path of rotation of the ball at about 90 apart. The game may be started by a fifth player who may be considered the pitcher and advances the ball in a generally horizontal arc to the first batter who drives the ball toward the second batter and the idea is to keep the ball continuously in motion and in the same direction with each batter striking the ball in his turn.

In order to make the game more difiicult, the pitcher may station himself near the standard and as the ball rotates, flex the standard to change the path of travel of 2,751,226 Patented June 19, 1956 the ball from an even circulatory motion to an undulating or gyrating motion.

A ratchet mechanism may be provided on the swivel connection for the purpose of insuring that the ball will rotate only in one direction, for example in a clockwise direction, when all the players are right handed batters and of course the ratchet mechanism may be of the reversible type to permit the device to be used by left handed batters.

A refinement of the invention consists in the provision of a register or indicating device which is actuable by the swivel connection to count the number of revolutions which the ball makes, to thus provide an arrangement for using the device for competitive games. For example, two or more teams of four persons may play the game, and the winning team be determined by the greatest number of revolutions made within a time period, or the greatest number of revolutions made by a team without the ball being missed by any of the batters.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the device.

Figure 2 is a view of unassembled elements forming a detail of the invention.

Figure 3 is a view in elevation of a portion of the device showing an arrangement of the counter.

Referring to Figure 1, the numeral 10 indicates a standard having its lower end pointed for ready insertion in the ground G and as shown is provided with a metal guard 11. The standard 10 is made up of upper and lower sections which are removably connected by a joint 12 of any desired type which permits the sections to be readily separated. In order to adapt the device for use with small children the lower section may be made in two parts and arranged so that the guard 11 may be interchangeably placed on the lower end of either part for insertion into the ground.

The upper end of the standard 10 is provided with a rotatable member 13 which may take the form of a pulley or any other rotatable means which is readily attached to the upper end of the standard 10. The rotatable member 13 is provided with a lateral arm 14 which is adapted to receive the upper end of the flexible suspension member 15, for example, a rope which receives at its lower end a captive ball 16. The ball 16 may be of any desired size, weight, or composition suitable for the particular game for which the device is to be used.

In Figure 2 the assemblage of elements of my particular rotatable connection are shown. The assemblage comprises a cap 20 having a hollow lower portion for receiving the upper end of the standard 10 to which it is secured by screws as shown. The cap has at its upper end a flat bearing surface and an extension 22. The extension 22 receives an apertured rotatable plate 23 having an arm 24 formed integral therewith and below the plate 23 a washer 25 is placed and the assemblage fixed in operative relation by securing means such as a cotter pin 26 which extends through the aperture 27 in the extension 22.

The arm 24 is provided with an aperture 28 and a notch 29 for receiving the upper end of the flexible suspension member 15 which is lapped about itself and secured together by means of a clamp 30. The clamp 30 prevents the suspension member 15 from jumping or raising above the arm 24.

In Fig. 3 a counter or register C is shown fixed to the cap 20 to be actuated by means of a leg 31 depending from the arm 24 to count or register each revolution which is made by the ball 16.

It has been found that the aperture 28 should not be more than about five inches from the axis of rotation of the Plate 23 andtm the mos effec ive p ra on th pe ture should be slightly less than two inches.

I claim:

Game apparatus which comprises a standard adapted to have its lower end secured in fixed position relative to a playing surface with its upper end disposed thereabove, a vertical pin extending axially of the upper end of the standard, a plate about said pin providing a bearing surface, a collar receivedby said pinand mounted for rota tion on said plate, abutment means on said pin above the collar for limiting upward axial movement of the collar and maintaining the collar generally normal to the pin, said collar having a lateral extension with a free end portion, a notch in said free end portion of the extension and an aperture in the extension spaced from the notch, a suspension cord having a captive ball at its free lower end portion and its upper end portion secured to the lateral extension, said upper end portion of the cord being threaded through the notch and aperture in the extension and providing an overlap immediately below the notch in the extension, rigid clamping means about the overlap, said clamping means maintaining the overlap below the notch and providing rigidity to the overlap whereby the suspension cord is prevented from being deflected above the extension when force is applied to the captive ball to cause it to describe a generally circulatory path about the standard.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,608,849 Gilmourc Nov. 30, 1926 1,862,044 White June 7, 1932 2,017,720 Lake Oct. 15, 1935 2,199,461 Jones May '7, 1940 2,496,795 Johnson Feb. 7, 1950 2,506,825 Carlson May 9, 195

FOREIGN PATENTS 240,652 Great Britain Oct. 8, 1925 415,836 Great Britain Sept. 6, 1934 

